Social distancing provides the most powerful national lesson on the Golden Rule – do unto others as you want others to do unto you – that I’ve ever seen. And it’s taken the conversation of rights and law in new directions as Americans have been asked to change our way of life, short term, for the greater good. Our communities and states have, for the most part, enacted a national honor system that asks every citizen to do their best to care for those who could die if they contract COVID-19by making a choice to restrict our movements. But as the tedium and tension of safe-at-home become stressed-at-home, a troubling number of people seem prepared to reject life-saving efforts by shooting the messenger.
President Trump and his team have worked tirelessly at this time of crisis, and the political debate of whether the United States could have started sooner or gone further is now devolving in conversation about whether we should ditch the recovery efforts altogether because it’s unclear if these sacrifices are paying off or whether the models being used are correct.
But these critics ignore some very important facts that should be considered as we stand together … though a bit further apart … at this unique moment in history.
This is a pro-business administration. President Trump’s pro-business philosophy is a defining characteristic of his administration. Of all people, his desire to see the economy prosper is well known. Critics who insinuate that he and his team are turning a blind eye to the impact of this dramatic attempt to save lives are making an argument that ignores a driving theme throughout Trump’s administration. This is not a socialist who campaigns on burning down the system to replace with an unattainable utopia.PresidentTrump’s efforts to engage public and private partnerships that create life-saving equipment for use and to streamline FDA processes for approving treatments that are arising show a unique skill in the mechanics of business, which needs to be put to work to save lives.
The President, who has overseen tremendous economic growth over the last three years, will certainly be committed to rebuilding what has been lost during this coronavirus crisis.
This is a pro-science operation. As a pro-life advocate, I’ve spent my career talking about the science of life, from conception to natural death, committing myself to staying true to the facts of biology. Science must come first here too. At this critical moment, the scientific and medical minds who are working to prevent an even greater tragedy deserve our respect and attention with fact-based emphasis. Daily briefings on the plans and proposals have offered Americans and viewers around the world a look into the deliberations taking place.
Dr. Deborah Birx, Dr.Anthony Fauci, and Dr. Jerome Adams, to name a few, are becoming household names, as science and math become interesting for the first time, for many of us, since high school. Their calculations along with others on teams across the government and the nation are for the purpose of protecting lives at risk. To dismiss the men and women who are heroically reasoning a way out of this mess disrespects their skills and experience. We need to support their efforts to limit the loss of life.
This is a pro-love opportunity. Now is the time for the pro-life movement to put into practice our rhetoric of protecting the most vulnerable among us, that every life is valuable and worth sacrificing for.
As an act of kindness, we need to put others’ interests ahead of our own for the greater good. Not because the law says so or because your neighbor may be watching with binoculars out a window to report any crowd activity, but because it’s the right thing to do.
With two children who have a life-threatening genetic condition, cystic fibrosis, which can lead to lung and breathing issues on a good day, I more than many understand that a sacrifice is being asked of the nation at this critical time. But coming together to save the lives of friends and neighbors is something we can all be proud of and will remember all our days. Let’s have some faith in the efforts to save lives and let’s have some compassion on those whose lives we save by staying at home just a bit longer.
Kristan Hawkins is president of Students for Life of America, with more than 1,220 groups on college, university and high school campuses in all 50 states. Follow her@KristanHawkins or subscribe to her podcast, Explicitly Pro-Life.
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